1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to escalators and other mechanisms for the automated transport of people between vertically or horizontally displaced positions. The present invention relates more specifically to indicia, visible from a distance, for indicating the direction of travel of an escalator, moving walkway, or other automated transport mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the most common mechanisms for moving people between floor levels in a building is an escalator. One of the most common mechanisms for moving people across long distances within a single floor of a building is a moving walkway. Such automated transport mechanisms are well known and are particularly common in large open public areas such as airport terminals and shopping malls. Escalators and moving walkways are frequently used in such environments because of their ability to safely and quickly move large numbers of people between levels or floors or across a single floor within the public space.
Escalators and moving walkways function well because they are fully automated and require little or no control from the passengers utilizing them for transport. A passenger simply steps onto the first xe2x80x9cstepxe2x80x9d of the moving stairway or walkway and is automatically propelled up, down, or across according to the direction that the escalator or walkway is traveling. Part of their efficiency lies in the fact that escalators and moving walkways are continuously running in a specific direction (up or down) or across and do not require (or permit) the selection of a direction of travel by the user. Passengers must instead select or locate an escalator or moving walkway that is traveling in the direction that they wish to travel. This is contrasted with an elevator (for example) wherein the passenger is free to access any elevator and then choose the direction of travel upon selecting a specific floor destination. Of course a major disadvantage of an elevator in the environment described above is its ability to carry only a limited number of passengers at a time and then only in one direction at a time. Passengers or potential passengers may have to wait a period of time before the elevator begins to move in the direction they wish to travel. An escalator or moving walkway, on the other hand, is always moving the direction of travel that the passengers desire. That is as long as the passengers have identified and have accessed an escalator or walkway moving in the desired direction.
One of the drawbacks of current escalator and moving walkway designs is the limited ability to discern from a distance the direction of travel that a specific device is moving. This would not be much of a problem if escalators were always positioned in pairs, one moving up and the second moving down, but in fact this is seldom the case. It is not uncommon for a potential escalator passenger to view an escalator from a distance across a large open public area and perceive it to be moving in a desired direction, only to arrive at the escalator and find that they were mistaken. Likewise, with moving walkways, it is difficult for a potential passenger to discern from a distance the direction of travel (horizontal) that a specific device is moving. Although moving walkways are more often associated in pairs moving in opposite directions, this is not always the case. It is not uncommon for moving walkways to be reversible in direction depending upon the major flow of traffic at a particular time during the day. Even where no moving walkway is traveling in the direction that a passenger wishes to go, it is desirable to have an indication of the direction of travel such that an unnecessary approach to the walkway can be avoided. Certainly where walkways are associated in pairs and one is traveling one way and the second the opposite way, it is most beneficial to view from a distance the direction of travel such that an approach to the appropriate walkway can be made.
The typical escalator or moving walkway has two basic moving components, the moving set of steps or foot platforms and a pair of moving handrails. The remaining operational components such as the motor and the track structures are stationary. A potential passenger approaching an escalator will attempt to discern its direction of travel by looking at one or both of the moving components. Unfortunately, the moving steps of a typical escalator are most commonly constructed of dark, unfinished metallic material with dark, often corrugated upper surfaces. Because the outward facing surfaces of the moving steps are either constantly in contact with passengers feet, or are constantly rubbing against each other in their progression around the escalator track, it is not practical to provide distinctive features thereon that might serve to indicate the direction of travel for the escalator when in motion. Such distinctive visible surfaces would quickly become indiscernible from the constant abrasive contact they endure.
The moving handrails of the typical escalator are seldom any better for allowing the distant viewer to discern the direction that the escalator is traveling. Typically these handrails are constructed of a durable, flexible, plastic or rubber compound of a single color, most often black or gray. It is next to impossible to discern from a distance the direction, up or down, that such a featureless surface is moving.
There have been a number of efforts in the past to address the discernment of the direction of an escalator or the like. These efforts have focused on providing single point lighted indicators positioned near the entrance and exit to the escalator. Examples of these include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,271 issued to Abraham et al. provides an electronic lighted indicator positioned near the exit or entrance to an escalator designed to indicate from a distance the direction of travel for the escalator. The Abraham et al. patent utilizes an LED array positioned adjacent to the handrail near the steps of the escalator that displays either an up arrow or a dash to indicate the appropriate travel direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,274 issued to Saito is one of a number of patents owned by Hitachi, Ltd. related to escalators that includes an illumination device attached to the outside surface of the handrail support in a position to be viewed by a pedestrian at some distance from the escalator. As the drawings in this patent indicate, arrow indicia on the lighted component indicate the direction of travel for the escalator.
Other U.S. Patents that focus more on the structure of the moving handrail include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,009 issued to Iyoda et al. describes the cross sectional structure of an escalator handrail and distinguishes a unique core member that is driven by the handrail driving device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,256 issued to French discloses an escalator handrail with internal illumination and a cover of transparent material for the insertion of advertising material therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,270 issued to Dobo describes an escalator handrail made up of distinct sections that are held together with a plurality of internal cables.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,809 issued to Idetsuki discloses another effort to position advertising material beneath a transparent cover over the handrail on an escalator.
Most of the above efforts fails to provide adequate information to the distant potential passenger about the direction of travel of that particular escalator or moving walkway. Those that do provide such information do so at the expense of complex lighted indicator systems that not only increase the cost of the escalator but are further subject to failure and maintenance concerns.
Overall the above referenced efforts fail to provide ease of use for the typical pedestrian or user of escalators and the like. Some of the directional indicators described are as difficult to see at a distance as is the movement of the escalator steps or the motion of the handrail. To be truly helpful, a directional indicator must provide ease of use for the typical person positioned at more than few hundred feet from the entrance (or exit) of the escalator or moving walkway.
It would therefore be desirable to have a mechanism for identifying the direction of travel for an escalator or a moving walkway, from a distance that is sufficient to decide whether to approach the walkway or escalator. It would be desirable if such a mechanism were easily discernable from more than a few hundred feet such that a potential passenger need not approach a walkway or escalator in order to determine whether it should be used or not. It would be desirable if such a mechanism included indicators or indicia that did not degrade with time or with constant abrasive contact. It would also be desirable if a system incorporating a mechanism for indicating the direction of travel would also incorporate a means for illuminating the indicia or indicator in a manner that allows it to be visible in low light environments.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a directional indicator for an automated transport device that permits the discernment of the direction of travel for the device from a distance.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a directional indicator for an escalator or a moving walkway that is xe2x80x9cuser friendlyxe2x80x9d in that it provides ease of use to the typical pedestrian deciding whether or not to approach from a distance.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a directional indicator for an escalator or a moving walkway that is incorporated onto or into the moving handrail component of the escalator or moving walkway.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide indicia on the moving handrail component of an escalator or moving walkway that is visually contrasted to the primary component material of the handrail.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an illumination device where necessary to highlight the visual contrast between the directional travel indicia and the primary component material of the moving handrail.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved escalator or moving walkway system that incorporates visual indicia on the moving handrails thereof in a manner that permits discernment of the direction of travel of the escalator or moving walkway from a distance sufficient to permit a potential passenger to decide whether or not to approach the device.
In fulfillment of these and other objectives, the present invention provides a directional indicator for automated transport devices such as escalators and moving walkways, for permitting the discernment of the direction of travel of the transport device from a distance. The directional indicator comprises a set of indicia permanently formed in or placed on the moving handrail of the escalator or moving walkway, that can be seen and easily discerned from a distance. The indicia are preferably of a bright color that strongly contrasts with the dark gray or black of the typical escalator or moving walkway handrail construction. The indicia are also sized, configured, and spaced along the handrail to allow the viewer from a distance to quickly and easily interpret the motion thereof. The indicia are constructed of material that is placed on or incorporated into the material of the handrail in such a manner as to prevent its removal from the handrail and to prevent the degradation of the contrasting visual effect over time. The system further incorporates illumination devices that direct visible light or ultraviolet light onto the indicia in a manner that allows it to be visible in low light environments.